Billy Bishop - WWI Ace Pilot

Billy Bishop glances over his shoulder at the plumenting German plane he has just shot down while an approaching German pilot opens fire from above.

William Avery Bishop is credited with 72 victories in the air and was a Victoria Cross recipient of the First World War. He is considered Canada's top pilot of WWI.

In this illustration I have Bishop flying the French built Nieuport 17 with the top mounted Lewis machine gun. The Royal Flying Corps found the fuselage mounted Vickers guns to be unreliable and often had them omitted. The Vickers machine gun was synchronised to fire through the propeller.